Rickerby: City's capricious choice

So now the city wants to enforce an old ordinance against yard sale signs. Isn't this interesting, considering they don't enforce many other ordinances that also have been on the books for many years. For example, weed ordinances. The weeds and overgrown grass around the back of City Hall on Barclay Street, the sides of the road on the east edge of Craig, near the fairgrounds, many yards around town are just a few examples. Then let's get to the old cars and other junk parked in back yards, abandoned houses, etc., that have not been cleaned up for years, and had complaints filed against them. There are abandoned vehicles that stay on the streets for weeks at a time that no one (police or code enforcement) ever does anything about. Even the yards of certain city employees charged with enforcement of these ordinances are not always in compliance.

So we are going to penalize all of our residents because a few don't remove their signs in a timely manner? Why not just contact the ones that don't remove their signs? Or is it too difficult to figure out who posted these signs? Most have the address of the yard sale posted on them or at least a phone number It's a no-brainer that they could be contacted and asked to remove the signs. If they don't comply then, that would be the time to issue a citation.

These signs are definitely unsightly and even ugly after they have been left to weather for a period of time But most people who have yard sales are responsible enough to remove their signs when their sale is finished.

Then there is the so-called new animal control ordinances. Why write new ordinances, when the ones already on the books are not enforced? But that is a subject for another letter, another time.